By Samantha Simon
The Cabinet has tasked a team of four lawyers from the Ministry of Legal Affairs to examine the traffic laws and regulations governing the Antigua and Barbuda Transport Board.
The goal is to provide law enforcement with more authority to crack down on reckless driving and reduce the alarming number of traffic accidents in the nation.
Speaking at the post-Cabinet press briefing, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Offfice, Lionel Hurst emphasised that excessive speeding is extremely dangerous, despite many drivers’ belief that they can control their vehicles at high speeds.
“This is not a new science; it has been known since the invention of the automobile that as a vehicle’s speed increases, the driver’s control decreases,” Hurst stated.
The Cabinet expressed particular concern about the strain reckless driving incidents place on the emergency services at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center.
Often the emergency rooms become overwhelmed, especially during weekends and holidays, making it difficult to provide timely care for other emergency cases.
The legal team has been directed to gather comprehensive data from the police, transport board, and the medical center to intelligently analyse the factors behind the accidents.
This includes the age group and gender of drivers involved, how much over the speed limit they were driving, the time of day and day of week incidents occurred, the make of vehicle, and whether drivers had proper insurance and licenses.
“We don’t want to punish drivers who are not deliberately breaking the law,” Hurst explained.
“But those who blatantly drive at excessive speeds like 80 mph in a 40 mph zone, we will appeal to curb that kind of wrongdoing through amended laws based on the data analysis.”
The use of breathalyzers, which have already been legalised, will also be utilised when alcohol or other intoxicating substances are suspected as a factor.
Hurst also urged the public to avoid driving under the influence, especially over the upcoming holiday weekend when such incidents tend to spike.
The lawyers’ in-depth analysis of the data from the police, transport board and the hospital will guide the updates to the traffic laws.
This aims to give law enforcement better tools to deter reckless driving and protect all road users in Antigua and Barbuda.